Think you know books? Try our new Book Trivia!

Book Summary and Reviews of A Small Fortune by Rosie Dastgir

A Small Fortune by Rosie Dastgir

A Small Fortune

A Novel

by Rosie Dastgir

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Published:
  • May 2012, 384 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

An entertaining debut novel that explores the lives of an extended Pakistani family - all with a gently humorous touch and fond but wry eye.

Harris, the presumed patriarch of his large extended family in both England and Pakistan, has unexpectedly received a "small fortune" from his divorce settlement with an English woman: £53,000. As a devout Muslim, Harris views this sum as a "burden of riches" that he must unload on someone else as quickly as possible. But deciding which relative to give it to proves to be a burden of its own, and soon he has promised it both to his extremely poor cousins in Pakistan and to his Westernized, college-student daughter. Then, in a rash bout of guilt and misunderstanding, Harris signs the entire sum away to the least deserving, most prosperous cousin of all. This solves none of his problems and creates many more, exacerbating a tricky web of familial debt and obligation on two sides of the world, until the younger generation steps in to help. 

With insight, affection, and a great gift for character and story, Dastgir immerses us in a rich, beautifully drawn immigrant community and complex extended family. She considers the challenges between relatives of different cultural backgrounds, generations, and experiences - and the things they have to teach one another. A Small Fortune offers an affectionate and affecting look at class, culture, and the heartbreak of misinterpretation.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"The multiple viewpoints and complexities answer the local prejudice ('They think we're all the same'), and readers across generations will recognize both the bliss of reunion and the confusion, overcrowding, and clashes that arise when the space is too small." - Booklist

"...[A]nd while getting acquainted with each individual does feel worthwhile - the energy of the narrative too often slows amid stilted dialogue and multiple versions of emotional indecision." - Publishers Weekly

"Keep an eye on this first novel from Oxford and Tisch School of the Arts grad Dastgir, especially for fans of Smith, Monica Ali, and Helen Oyeyemi." - Library Journal

"Dastgir is particularly perceptive about first-generation immigrants' preoccupations with minute class signifiers... Among the strengths of [her] writing are the naturalistic flow of her dialogue and her ear for the Yorkshire lilt. Her screenwriting flair also shines through in the deft jump-cuts between Lahore, Whitechapel and Yorkshire, and the arresting images of London's urban decay." - Anna Travis in The Times Literary Supplement

This information about A Small Fortune was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Rosie Dastgir

Rosie Dastgir was born in England to a Pakistani father and an English mother. She was educated at Oxford University and received an MFA in film from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She lives in Brooklyn. Visit her website at www.rosiedastgir.com.

More Author Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Recommendations

Readers Also Browsed . . .

more literary fiction...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    Broken Country (Reese's Book Club)
    by Clare Leslie Hall
    A love triangle reveals deadly secrets in this thriller for fans of The Paper Palace and Where the Crawdads Sing.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant
    by Liza Tully

    A great detective's young assistant yearns for glory, but first they have learn to get along in this delightful feel good mystery.

Win This Book
Win These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas

"[An] atmospheric tale of unexpected hope." —Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author

Enter

Book
Trivia

  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

W the C A the M W P

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.